Florida Caverns State Park

Marianna [30.808399,-85.212398]

A dip into Florida’s only show cave at Florida Caverns State Park brings on an instant sense of cool. Opened in Marianna in the 1930s by the hardworking Civilian Conservation Corps, the tour route wraps through more than a dozen rooms with their own distinct and colorful landscapes.

Directions

From Interstate 10 exit 142, follow SR 71 north to US 90. Continue west on US 90 to downtown Marianna, where a large sign points you to make a right on SR 166, Florida Caverns Road. Follow it north, crossing the Chipola River and passing Citizens Lodge Park before you reach the park entrance on the left, just after the Florida Caverns Golf Course (not a part of the state park). Once inside the park, take a left at the fork to drive down to the parking area at the show cave.

Details

Inside Florida Caverns

It’s a live cave, dripping water from the stalactites above. Landmarks have names like Fat Man’s Squeeze, the Wedding Room, and the Cathedral, and geologic beauty emerges as rimstone pools, delicate soda straws, pure sparkling calcite, helicitites, and cave bacon.

Above ground, the park is just as fascinating. It includes Florida’s only hiking trail that goes through a cave (hint: you can see the light at the end of the tunnel), rugged karst landscapes with tall trees and delicate Appalachian-style wildflowers. Accessible paved paths loop through some of these gorgeous habitats, but the boulder-strewn climbs are much fun.

At the north end of the park, there’s Blue Hole, a spring to swim in (when open). Paddlers can head upriver on the Upper Chipola River Paddling Trail, a challenging but rewarding route; downriver, the river vanishes beneath a natural bridge. The park offers a large campground, lushly set in the hilly woods, and many miles of multi-use trails. Add in the adjoining 9-hole golf course built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s – adjacent to, but not a park of the park, just south of the park entrance – and there’s plenty here to fill a long weekend.

Explore the park

Baltzell Spring-Made up of liquid pools of beauty on the edge of Florida Caverns State Park, Baltzell Spring is a compelling destination for spring hunters along the Chipola River in Marianna.

Caverns Trail System-Most people come to see the stalactites and stalagmites at Florida’s only show cave. But the hiking’s even weirder at Florida Caverns State Park, home of Florida's only hiking trail through a cave.

Spring hopping around Tallahassee-Between Madison and Marianna and across Wakulla County, explore a colorful collection of natural springs for swimming and snorkeling, all within an hour of Tallahassee.